Taylor Swift makes even more history as Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year
Taylor Swift will never, ever, ever get tired of breaking records and making history, it seems.
Time magazine named the “Karma” singer its 2023 Person of the Year on Wednesday, revealing that she is also the first woman to appear twice on its annual honorary cover since the series began in 1927. Swift, 33, made her Person of the Year cover debut in 2017 as part of the “Silence Breakers,” a group of women who helped spark a cultural reckoning around sexual harassment and assault. She appeared alongside California lobbyist Adama Iwu, actor Ashley Judd, a strawberry picker identified as Isabel Pascual and software engineer Susan Fowler.
“This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” Swift said in Wednesday’s cover story.
Cultural dominance. History-making album sales. Sold-out stadiums. Add them up, and Taylor Swift’s current moment has little precedent in pop-music history.
In 2023, Swift’s impact was undeniable — and seemingly inescapable. In March, the 12-time Grammy winner launched her highly lucrative Eras tour, which catered to multiple generations of her devoted fans known as Swifites. Concertgoers came braced with friendship bracelets, brought their mothers to experience the singer’s hits and even set off earthquake-like activity in Seattle. The “Cruel Summer” hitmaker brought her Eras tour to Los Angeles, taking over Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium for several nights. The singer will continue the tour in February 2024 with four shows in Tokyo.
Swift continued to expand her empire this year with the release of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie. In early October, “Eras” earned $96 million in its first four days at the domestic box office, marking the highest opening for a concert film.
In late October, a Bloomberg News analysis reported that the singer had joined the billionaire’s club thanks to her ongoing blockbuster tour. According to the report, Swift reportedly touts a net worth of $1.1 billion and her tour “added $4.3 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.”
A juggernaut opening weekend — historic for a concert film — will be a much-needed shot in the arm for an industry hobbled by strikes.
Amid touring, Swift also released “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” a rerecording of her Grammy-winning “1989” album. The rerecording is part of the singer’s efforts to take back ownership of the six-album catalog she lost when celebrity music manager Scooter Braun purchased — and subsequently sold — her record label, Big Machine.
“No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well. Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power,” Time editor in chief Sam Jacobs explained. Jacobs also wrote that Swift has become the magazine’s first Person of the Year to be recognized for “her success in the arts.”
This year, Swift also found success on the awards circuit. In September, she took home nine awards at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, bringing her overall total to 23 prizes. Beyoncé remains the VMA’s most-decorated artist with 29 wins. . Just last month, Swift earned 10 honors at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards and scored six Grammy nominations for her album “Midnights.”
And when there seems to be a lull in Swift music news, her highly-publicized relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce fills that void. Their romance got off the ground in late September when the singer watched a Chiefs NFL game against the Chicago Bears. Swift and Kelce (a.k.a. “Trayvis”) have since been spotted getting cozy and kissing, making both Swifties and football fanatics react with grade-school glee.
“By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date,” Swift said in Wednesday’s cover story, breaking her silence about the relationship. “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care.”
The singer, who also earned spots on Forbes’ World’s Most Powerful Women and People’s 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year lists, celebrated the Time honor on Instagram. She shared different cover photos including one that featured her cat, Benjamin Button, draped around her neck.
“Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea-,” she wrote.”Me: Can I bring my cat.”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
